Police, security agencies urged to exercise power fairly
The police and other security agencies have been called upon not to exercise power unfairly and capriciously but rather be guided by the human rights and maintaining the dignity of the country after the judgement of the Supreme Court.
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The Afigya Kwabre District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Wilberforce Zangina, made the call at a day’s community sensitisation durbar on peace and stability at Kodie in the Afigya Kwabre District in the Ashanti Region.
He said it was gratifying that the police and the military had assured the nation of their preparedness to deal with any person or group of persons who would foment trouble during and after the Supreme Court’s verdict.
In that vein, he said it was important for the security agencies, while exercising their duties, to bear in mind Article One of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which states that: “All human beings are born equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”.
He also buttressed his point by quoting from Article 14 (1) of the 1992 Constitution which states that: “Every person shall be entitled to his personal liberty and no person shall be deprived of his personal liberty,” adding that in Article 15 (1) of the same constitution, the “dignity of all persons shall be inviolable”.
He said democracy emphasised the value, dignity, respect and protection of fundamental human rights and that “we should remember that peace and justice are two sides of the same coin”.
He pointed out that one way in which the people expressed their will in a democratic society was by electing their representatives to represent them in government and at the legislature through free and fair elections that were devoid of cheating, intimidation, violence, corruption, threats and provocation before, during and after the elections.
On that note, Mr Zangina commended the petitioners of the 2012 election petition for their “high sense of magnanimity” by resorting to legal remedy instead of violence and mayhem.
He also appreciated the manner in which the respondents conducted themselves during the petition hearing.
He commended the media for the important role they played in covering the elections and serving as the eyes and ears of society but expressed unhappiness that some media practitioners had been manipulated by interested and powerful politicians to carry out their propaganda.
He appealed to the Electoral Commission, the constitutionally mandated body in charge of elections, to put in place more corrective mechanisms that would allow all stakeholders to be actively and directly involved in the electoral processes.
The durbar was attended by traditional rulers, the clergy and political parties, namely the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the People’s National Convention (PNC). Also in attendance were NCCE directors.
By Joseph Kyei-Boateng/Daily Graphic/Ghana
